William Jennings Bryan, World-Herald Editor
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For membership information, see: http://nebraskahistory.org/admin/members/index.htm Article Title: William Jennings Bryan, World-Herald Editor Full Citation: Paul V Peterson, “William Jennings Bryan, World-Herald Editor,” Nebraska History 49 (1968): 348- 371 URL of article: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1968BryanEditor.pdf Date: 12/04/2015 Article Summary: Gilbert Hitchcock, needing financial support in order to buy typesetting machines for his newspaper, engaged Bryan as editor. He expected that the politician and his friends would buy shares of stock in the paper. Bryan provided only limited editorial and fundraising help. Cataloging Information: Names: William Jennings Bryan, Gilbert M Hitchcock, Richard L Metcalfe, G A Luikart, Tom Allen, W H Thompson Nebraska Place Names: Omaha Keywords: Omaha World-Herald, William Jennings Bryan, Gilbert M Hitchcock, typesetting machines, Merganthaler Linotype, Weekly World, “Silver Miner’s Funds,” Free Silver Democratic Ticket (1894) Photographs / Images: Bryan in his World-Herald office, Gilbert M Hitchcock, Richard L Metcalfe, banner headline announcing Bryan’s presidential nomination, five-column Bryan photo William Jennings Bryan, apparently in his office at the World-Herald. W!l!a&!Ai'J! JJ!t!lt!lt!l!t@a~ ~!alt£l!t w~!a&~ ,..a!t!a£&~ !t~~~~a By PAUL V. PETERSON MONG the many credits following the name of William Jennings Bryan is that of "editor of the Omaha World Herald, 1894-1896." And indeed his name did appear on the masthead of this Nebraska newspaper from September of 1894 until he was selected to carry the standard of the Democratic Party in the summer of 1896. In fact, however, Bryan did little editing, and had the success of the Omaha / paper depended upon his presence and direction as an editor, it is very likely that the newspaper would have ceased publication. I How was it that , Bryan came to be editor of the World-Herald? Why did he choose to give up his seat in the House of Representatives in 1894 by not seeking reelection to what would have been a third term? What did Bryan expect to gain by a switch from politics to newspapering? And why did Gilbert M, H~tchcock, the apparently successful ' Dr. Peterson is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Ohio State University. Material for his article is based on his doctoral dissertation, "The Omaha Daily World and World-Herald, 1885-1964." 349 350 NEBRASKA HISTORY publisher of the newspaper, think that the addition of Bryan's name to the staff was important to the future of the paper? In a sense, the answers to these questions began at least in part before the questions could be asked. -· \ . By 1894 Gilbert M. Hitchcock had reached a decision which had probably been some time in the making: His newspaper needed typesetting machines. However, such ma,chines were expensive. From the time the Daily World was started on August 24, 1885, Hitchcock had watched with great interest the development i of automatic typesetting machines. Undoubtedly his busin'ess eye had more than once caused him to stand in the doorway to the composing room and reflect on the many compositors at work, hand setting / each individual piece of type, and then after the paper had been printed, returning each piece to its individual compartment in the California type case. As early as March of 1886, the Daily World had carried an article about typesetting machines, this one an interview with James E. Munson of New York about the "Baltimore machine." Munson didn't think the machine would be a success, for "the effect of having so many things to distract his [the operator's] attention must necessarily be an increased number of errors, and, therefore, of lines of type to be set and cast over again." He also said he thought the machine's greatest fault was that when "an error occurs, even a single letter in a whole line, that whole line must be reset."1 An 1891 typesetting contest sponsored by the American Newspaper Publishers Association in Chicago was front page news in the World-Herald. 2 Three machines were pitted 1. Daily World (Omaha), March 27, 1886.lt was generally known among the newspaper fraternity that Ottmar Merganthaler, working with funds provided by the New York Tribune and other newspapers, had nearly completed a workable typesetting machine. The Merganthaler machine set its first line of type in July of 1886, although the machines were not generally available until the early 1890's. 2. Omaha World-Herald, October 13, 1891. The World-Herald dates from July 15, 1889, when Hitchcock purchased the Omaha Daily Herald from John A. McShane. The Herald had been founded in 1865 by Dr. George L. Miller. BRYAN, WORLD-HERALD EDITOR 351 against one another-the Merganthaler Linotype, the Rogers Typograph, and the McMillan typesetting machine. After a four-day battle, the Typograph was declared the winner, the Linotype coming in second. Thus, by early 1894 Hitchcock was convinced that his newspaper must have typesetting machines, and he placed an order for ten Linotypes at a total cost of thirty thousand dollars. Delivery was slated for early September of that same year, but payment was to start as soon as the order was placed. More money was needed immediately if the paper was to meet its latest financial obligation. In April of that year, William Jennings Bryan, in his second term as Nebraska's Second District congressman, wrote a long letter to Hitchcock proposing that he, Bryan, not seek a third term. 3 I have been thinking over a matter, and I would like to present it to you in the strictest confidence for your consideration .... it looks as if there might be a republican tidal wave in 1894 similar to the democratic wave of 1890. The action of the President on the money question and the action of some eastern democrats on the tariff question will give our opponents a decided advantage aided by the hard times for which our party is only partly responsible. I have been / considering the advisability of refusing to run for Congress. If it was the mere matter of being beaten I would not care particularly, but if I am a candidate I shall be confmed. to ,the district, and hence unable to assist in the campaign in the rest of t.he state. If I am foot-loose I oan help make combination and go where I can do most good; whereas if I stay in my district and then lost I will have more than wasted my opportunities. There is this possibility also, that I might help to elect a legislature anti-republican and stand some chance for senator .... ' 3. Bryan to Hitchcock, April 14, 1894. This exchange of letters between Bryan and Hitchcock is quoted at some length because the existence of these papers has generally been ignored by Bryan scholars. They not only fully explain the circumstances under which Bryan became editor of the World-Herald, but they add another facet to his personality. Robert Patterson in his 1940 dissertation on Hitchcock also explored these papers. The letters are now in the possession of Mrs. Denman Kountze of Omaha, a sister of the second Mrs. Hitchcock. She received the papers as a part of the estate when her sister died in 1964. They were recently microfilmed with funds provided by the Hitchcock Foundation, and it is anticipated that copies will be distributed to certain libraries and historical societies . ....... 352 NEBRASKA HISTORY But his not seeking reelection was not the primary purpose of this letter, for he went on to say: I have for more than a year had in mind a plan for utilizing the acquaintance I have been making throughout the west. My tariff and silver speeches have given me a wide acquitlntance throughout the west, and the belief has grown upon me that I might utilize this notoriety both for the benefit of the cause and also pecuniarily. I had thought of starting a weekly paper and trying to get a large circulation through the western states, but that would involve me in considerable expense and would compel me to assume the respopsibility for its business management, and that I would not have time for. I was negotiating with a party when it occurred to me that J(OU and I might make a deal mutually advantageous. Your weekly is already established and there is an economy in running it in connection with your daily. Could you arrange to give me the political management of the weekly; my work to cover two or three columns in each issue, you to pay me for the same a / certain amount for each new subscriber obtained under my management? I could find time to write that much each week. As I understand it, the advertising brings in as much money as the subscriptions, and the price of advertising depends upon the circulation. Your weekly is furnished, I believe, at a dollar a year, and when you have once gained a subscriber you count upon keeping him. I do not know what your circulation is now, but suppose it is in the neighborhood of 10,000.